// Visa reveals 1% Y-o-Y decline in overall expenditure in December

// Ecommerce sales up by 0.5%

Visa’s UK Consumer Spending Index has revealed that overall expenditure continued to decline in December.

The index showed that consumer spending went down by one per cent year-on-year, making it the worst decline since April 2018.

Challenging conditions on the high street meant face-to-face expenditure fell 1.6 per cent, but ecommerce sales went up by 0.5 per cent.

Transport and communication witnessed the fastest spending decline of 4.4 per cent, and hotels, restaurants and bars expenditure climbed up by 7.6 per cent.

“The further decline in UK consumer spending in December 2018 is a disappointment, but not a surprise,” Visa European principal economist Adolfo Laurenti said.

“Notwithstanding a backdrop of low unemployment and rising wages, households remained very cautious at the end of the year – as they were for most of 2018.”

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